The Potion Master's Apprentice

Chapter 8

The teachers all had an end of the year celebration in which Severus would drink to his heart's (or rather McGonagall's) content. He used the time to let loose around his colleagues and to gossip a little. It was the only time the other teachers got to see him drop his guard.

The newest thing Harry could add to the list was wine. Severus loved wine. They would finish dinner and sit in the living room to talk or read for a bit and every single night he had poured himself a glass. Harry'd seen everything from deep purples to almost crystal clear. Each one was sipped just as reverently as the last and Harry was beginning to suspect that the man had a mastery in wine as well as potions.

He couldn't figure it out though. Severus needed to be on some potion regimine and Harry was bound and determined to figure out what it was and why he needed it.

"You've been awfully quiet Harry, is something the matter?" He was jerked from his thoughts and his eyes sought the man on the armchair out.

"No, I'm just thinking." Severus leaned forward and crossed his legs.

"Whatever about?" There he was, sipping on his nightly wine once more. Tonight was a light pink from what looked to be a rather boring bottle.

"The potions you have to take every day. I've been thinking about that a lot recently, and yet I'm still no closer to the answer than I was two months ago." Severus smirked, his eyes alight with amusement.

"One day, Harry, I'm sure you'll figure it out. You know where you can find me if you have any questions." Harry nodded and turned back to his book on potion ingredients while Severus sipped his wine until they retired for bed.

Vampires walk amongst us as the most human creature that you'll find in this tome. Perhaps this is because they once were human. They're known to use their magic to disguise themselves so they can live a relatively "normal" life until they simply disappear, only to reappear as a small child to "grow up" once more. It's uncommon for vampires to choose to start over as small children, most will start over with an age close to when they were turned. Normally, they'll be able to survive like this for four to eight years and then they move on. Only a few are documented to ever start over as children. This typically extends their "lives" greatly, giving them as much time as they want before they have to move on.

Vampires often have potions created for them so they can live directly with humanity while not having the urge to drink the blood of every warm-blooded being that crosses their path. In years passed, only one potion was around to assist them in controlling themselves. Recently, a set of potions was created to allow the drinker to blend in with humanity with less effort. To quench the thirst they feel, the first potion is mixed with animal blood and changes the chemistry of it blood into that of human blood.

The next is meant to allow the drinker more self control when they either cannot drink blood or when emotions are high and they need an added boost of self-control.

Lastly, there's one that suppresses their natural instincts and looks. It prevents the drinker from being able to use their senses to the highest ability, allowing for daily life to not overwhelm them and tones down their features so they look more average. The downside to this potion means that they will have a more difficult time finding a suitable mate as they won't be able to smell the blood of the candidates near them.

Often, vampires will use a permanent aging or anti-aging potion to disguise their true age. Aging potions will wear off after the number of years it has aged them (for example, if a ten year old takes it to look eighteen, it will take eight years before it wears off) or until they have aged back to their body's age (for example, if the vampire was turned at eighteen and de-aged themselves to ten, it will wear off once they are eighteen again).